Boiling as Household Water Treatment in Cambodia: A Longitudinal Study of Boiling Practice and Microbiological Effectiveness

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Abstract
This paper focuses on the consistency of use and microbiological effectiveness of boiling as it is practiced in one study site in peri-urban Cambodia. We followed 60 randomly selected households in Kandal Province over 6 months to collect longitudinal data on water boiling practices and effectiveness in reducing Escherichia coli in household drinking water. Despite > 90% of households reporting that they used boiling as a means of drinking water treatment, an average of only 31% of households had boiled water on hand at follow-up visits, suggesting that actual use may be lower than self-reported use. We collected 369 matched untreated and boiled water samples. Mean reduction of E. coli was 98.5%; 162 samples (44%) of boiled samples were free of E. coli (< 1 colony-forming unit [cfu]/100 mL), and 270 samples (73%) had < 10 cfu/100 mL. Storing boiled water in a covered container was associated with safer product water than storage in an uncovered container.

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